This time we rely on our expert in systems to delve into two powerful proposals for Vulnerability Management, Acunetix vs. Tenable.io.

Let’s see what they bring for our piece of mind.

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As network managers; we need to know all the information related to the vulnerabilities that may be sneaking around into our systems, and their status. However, this is just the beginning.

Beyond doing inventory of the vulnerabilities in our networks; we also need to define other key points such as: Are we having false positives? Can we address management their remediation with effective programs? Are we managing risk as we should?

As we can appreciate, automated tools for vulnerability management are critical to answer those questions. Furthermore, it’s also important to understand and keep in mind that the way we use these tools is essential to obtain a comprehensive view of what happens in our networks.

Acunetix vs. Tenable.io are two proposals that helps us to do so. They both gives us flexibility, insight and comprehensive vision we need to advance in our vulnerability management programs. Let’s confront them now.

Acunetix vs. Tenable.io

General Features

However, they differ in the last point, and this fact represents an advantage of Tenable.io over Acunetix.

It has an explanation: Even when OpenVAS continues to be a popular choice in vulnerability scanner; it is based on an outdated source of Nessus v2. This code is prior to its conversion to a commercial product under the brandmark Tenable Network Security.

For its part, Tenable.io is based upon the 7th generation of Tenable Nessus engine search. In other words, Tenable.io counts on the latest technology for the detection and vulnerability scanning optimization.

Dashboard

On the other hand, Tenable.io proposes graphics focused on remediation; while the graphics offered by Acunetix are limited to present some basic statistics that do not necessarily include an effective call to action.

Also, Acunetix counts on the “Auto-refresh” functionality of the displayed information. Meanwhile, Tenable.io provides a series of filters that allow manipulation and export information to generate tailored reports.

As this function is lost of sight for Acunetix; we dare to say that the features offered on the main dashboard of Tenable.io are more useful and offer more value to the customer in terms of results.

Charts

We close this comparative by analyzing charts. In Acunetix, the proposal includes graphics directly anchored in the main dashboard. Among them, we find:

Vulnerability by Severity: Bar graph that organizes vulnerabilities by severity.

Top 10 Vulnerabilities: List of Top 10 vulnerabilities in the network.

Latest Scans: List of recent scans and their results.

Most Vulnerable Hosts: List of most vulnerable assets in the company.

Upcoming Scans: Scans next to run.

Meanwhile, Tenable.io also shares the same functionality directly from the Dashboard.

Through it, we obtain an overview of the statistics of vulnerabilities found in our networks. Among the most popular graphics we find:

Current vulnerabilities: Counts vulnerabilities classified by severity, with information collected from all current scans.

Vulnerabilities over time: History counting vulnerabilities found through all scans over time. We highlight that this graph automatically deduplicate information; this means, it only counts once the same vulnerability to avoid information misrepresentation.

Exploit available: Accounts and displays exploitable vulnerabilities in our networks. It also shows if these exploits are publicly available.

Exploitable by malware: It shows if we have vulnerabilities that can be automatically exploited by malicious software.

Published solution available: This chart helps us to know if there are available patches for our vulnerabilities; or if otherwise we have to implement other measures suggested by third parties or solutions.

Acunetix vs. Tenable.io: Final Thoughts

Finally, we enclose this comparative with the comments of our expert, Ivan Montilla Mirelles on Acunetix vs. Tenable.io:

Thanks to these small competitive advantages, Tenable.io has conquered its place as a market leader. We add to them the best response times and accuracy to provide product updates that detect the latest vulnerabilities. Tenable.io leverages in good sources to provide rapid; efficient and consistent solutions when providing improvements to its product line.

However, it’s fair to say that when it comes to Vulnerability Management, Acunetix vs. Tenable.io share so many similarities that probably the main difference resides in how to use them to make a real difference in protection according to our purposes.

In other words, all vulnerability management tools provide more or less the same benefits; and it’s the system manager who conveniently configures them to maximize their capabilities.

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If you have any difficulty to achieve this level, in GB Advisors we have all you need. You can always count on our expert advice to purchase licenses in Tenable products; and configure them in accordance to your particular needs. Write us here and let’s start the journey together to shield your networks of all kinds of vulnerabilities.